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QC 20220302 Innovationer för hållbart långväga resande – styrmedel, affärsmodeller och teknikpotential

QC 20230120

Syftet med den här rapporten är att bidra till diskussionen om hur en utvidgad deltidsrätt påverkar möjligheterna till en hållbar livsstil och ett hållbart samhälle. År 2015 beslutade Göteborg stad att införa ”rätt till heltid med möjlighet att arbeta deltid”. Detta innebär att den lagstadgade deltidsrätten för småbarnsföräldrar och studerande har utvidgats så att anställda i Göteborg stad ges goda möjligheter att gå ner i arbetstid oavsett vilket motiv de har. Den utvidgade deltidsrätten innebär att ”kommunen ska ha en så generös inställning som möjligt utifrån verksamhetens krav och att ansvarig chef ska samråda med HR-funktion inför eventuellt beslut att inte bevilja lägre sysselsättningsgrad”. I denna populärvetenskapliga rapport sammanfattas de vetenskapliga analyser som har gjorts avseende den utvidgade deltidsrättens effekter för de anställdas välbefinnande samt för hur den påverkar den sociala, ekonomiska och ekologiska hållbarheten. Analysen är baserad på en enkätundersökning genomförd bland 994 personer som arbetade deltid, men som har en ”heltid i botten”.

Consumer critique stretches back almost to the beginning of the consumer society itself, including Veblen’s (1899) analysis of consumption for display among the nouveau riche, Adorno and Horkheimer (1944), who argued that consumers are trapped and manipulated by the capitalist system, and Galbraith (1958), who claimed, among other things, that producers create artificial desires that do not contribute to the well-being of consumers (Schor 2007). In recent decades, much of the consumer critique has also incorporated an ecological dimension. Jackson (2009) and others have argued that continued growth in global consumption is incompatible with sustainable development and that changes in values and priorities are required to tackle society’s longterm challenges.

A transition to a low-carbon economy requires farreaching reductions in emissions, which in addition will have to take place at the same time as the global population is growing. A growing population also makes ever greater demands on welfare, while the ecological, social and economic systems that have to sustain this development are already under severe strain. It is commonly argued that emission reductions in a growing world economy can and should be achieved by technical innovations so that the transition to a low-carbon economy does not imply a negative impact on human well-being. This report discusses whether there might perhaps be another way of understanding the situation. Is the presumed linkage between well-being and climate impact always negative? Could a greater focus on human well-being be a driver of, rather than an obstacle to, sustainable development? This report attempts to identify possible strategies to support both [the good life] and decreased emissions. By adopting this research approach, the authors aim to make a contribution to the discussion of low-carbon transitions in society.

The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of the effect of increasing income on energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by analyzing Spanish household consumption patterns and afterwards, comparing them with Swedish household consumption patterns (Nässén et al, 2009). In order to carry out this goal, the relationship between household expenditure and both energy use and CO2-eq emissions are calculated with the help of input-output methodology. Furthermore, a regression analysis is used to evaluate how energy use and CO2-eq emissions change when there is an increase in household expenditure on a certain commodity. Additionally, this study also provides an empirical contribution to the literature focused on understanding consumer behavior and options to change towards more sustainable consumer practices. In this research, three analyses have been performed. In the first one, the Spanish case is analyzed and it shows that energy use and CO2-eq emission are strongly linked to household expenditure. Subsequently, the Spanish consumption patterns are investigated with respect to the Swedish intensity factors (i.e. energy and GHG emissions). As an outcome, energy use linked to these consumption patterns is similar to the first study whereas GHG emissions would decrease by more than half if Spain had the Swedish production system. Finally, the Spanish and the Swedish cases are compared. Both countries have similar consumption patterns on average and on the margin; the former are dominated by housing and food products while the latter are dominated by mobility, luxury goods and leisure services. These patterns shift implies an increase by almost 0.9% in energy use and 0.85% in GHG emissions when income is increased by 1% for both countries. However, there are some small differences in the composition of consumption patterns in both countries that influence the total energy use: Swedish households use 27% more energy than Spanish households implying 15% more GHG emissions.